20 - Grab Your Sunnies: Astrology for the Week of March 17

This week brings a cosmic confidence boost and a bright spot between eclipses. Feel some courage? The desire to experiment? A tickle to make a move? Don’t let the retrogrades stop you from taking advantage of this bold, va-va-voom solar energy.

• 02:59 Week overview
• 03:47 Eclipse PSA
• 05:09 Sun conjunct North Node
• 08:56 Sun conjunct Neptune
• 11:11 Sun in Aries
• 13:23 Venus retrograde sextile Pluto
• 15:32 Sun conjunct Venus retrograde
• 18:11 Sun sextile Pluto

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Transcript

Hi, I'm Claire Gallagher, and this is Third House Gossip, where we spill the astrological tea. So pour something delicious and let's chat. This podcast is sponsored by me. So to support the show and support yourself, come see me for an astrology reading. Just head to astrologywithclaire. com. That's astrology with C L A I R E dot com. 

Hey astro lover, welcome back to Third House Gossip. I hope you're doing well. It is eclipse season. Everything's up in the air, things are changing, things are shifting, things are exciting, things can be a little hectic and busy. So I'm glad that you're here taking some time for yourself. Today we're going to talk all about the astrology for the week of March 17th, which is the week betwixt the eclipses.

Just as a reminder, I'm doing a Venus retrograde experiment with the podcast where I'm playing with this format of doing a weekly show where I talk about the current astrology and how it might feel and how we can [00:01:00] be with it and make the most of it. I am not sure if I'm going to keep this format. But so far so good, we've got a few more weeks of Venus retrograde, so I have plenty of time to play and, you know, I just want to encourage you that if there's something you've been wanting to try, but you're not sure about, I find Venus retrograde and Mercury retrograde for that matter, really interesting times to beta test something.

So whether that's a product or a way of doing something that you've always done before that you'd like to change, just experiment. Be free. You don't have to make any commitments. You don't have to change everything top to bottom right now. It's a really good time for gathering information. 

Eclipse season is also a really good time to get support. So if you've been thinking about getting a reading with me, go ahead and sign up. I would love to see you. Let's let's have a chat. Let's have a talk. This might be especially important for you to, you know, carve out some TLC for [00:02:00] yourself if the eclipses are happening in an angular house.

So, first, fourth, seventh, or tenth, or if you're a Pisces or Aries person because this is the season where your Time Lord switches. Yes, I love the Time Lords. So it's a great time to get some support. I love listening to people, hearing their stories, and offering whatever clarity I can, or just a safe space for people to process.

So I would love to see you. Also want to remind you that I have reduced the price of my astrology starter kit that may be temporary, but for now I'm just loving making astrology accessible for whoever wants to sink their teeth into it. I explain why astrology. is what it is. Like, why do the houses mean what they mean? And why are the signs the way they are? So if you like to answer the question, why the astrology is starter kit is probably for you. 

All right, let's [00:03:00] get started. Let's take the 10, 000 foot view first. So the big news of this week is that the sun is moving into Aries. In fact, Most of all the weather, all the astro weather that's happening this week involves the sun directly.

So grab your sunglasses, there's a lot of sun vibes going on, and you know what? I'm, I'm into that. You know, I gotta be honest, I really like the way this week is looking, and I hope by the end of this episode you'll be looking forward to it as well.

In terms of the moon, like I've already said, we're in betwixt the eclipses, so the moon is coming off of its full moon eclipse, and it's beginning the disseminating phase for most of this week, and it'll enter its last quarter over the weekend. Remember, or maybe you don't know this, So for the first time, letting you know that it is.

It's possible, but rare for eclipses to manifest as a [00:04:00] one time event on the day. So I don't want you, like, walking around bracing for something to happen when something probably will not happen. Now are there exceptions to that rule? Well, absolutely, positively, anything's possible, but the truth of the matter is eclipses Usually just show up as, oh, my period is late, or it came early, or, oh, I didn't sleep, or, oh, I'm really hungry.

You know, just our bodies can go a little funky, and that's okay. They'll go back to normal. But in terms of seeing something really significant unfold. Eclipses are more like, da da da da, you know, they are the trumpet that ushers in change. They say, hey, change is unfolding. But the change is typically more gradual and measured.

So there may be whispers of change occurring now, or maybe blatant change happening now, [00:05:00] but the eclipses have almost two years to do their work in the particular houses that they're happening in in your birth chart right now. 

So with that outta the way, let's go in chronological order for my Virgo sensibilities, we're gonna start with the sun and Pisces conjunct the north node.

This is happening on Monday, March 17th in North America, in Europe, and the 18th. If you're in Asia or Australia. So the north node is like an amplification point. It's like a mouth. It magnifies and grows anything that it's next to. Whatever it's near gets put on blast, like a megaphone.

So the nodes recently moved into Pisces and Virgo, which is why the eclipses are happening there for the most part. Sometimes there are outliers like there are this month, but for the next one and a half to two years, that's where the nodes are going to be. 

The [00:06:00] North Node is hungry. It is Full of craving, full of desire, it's like a mouth, and when it's activated in the sky, there can be an insatiable quality come up in us, a real yearning. So I want you to personalize this by finding the Pisces house in your chart, and this is the place where you're probably dreaming, wanting more, thinking about what could be better, you know, all of that good stuff.

But generally what happens is the Sun gets put on blast, it gets really amplified. The Sun represents that spark of life, that umph, that thing that keeps us going, that keeps us alive, it's our vitality. And in ancient astrology it also represents the light of the mind or the intellect. That may not be something you knew. So we typically think of the mind as mercury, but the sun also has a lot to do with the mind as well.

Remember that this conjunction is happening in the sign of [00:07:00] Pisces. So one possibility is that Pisces themes can be really exaggerated or amplified. So things like creative expression, imagination, compassion, and also this meandering, unclear, underwater type of feeling. So even though the Sun typically represents a clarifying point, and it is an orb that brings light and visibility, I don't expect that to be really how this feels.

It's more like the Sun is underwater, and it still represents vitality and light and life, etc. But it's almost like you're swimming or simmering in something. So maybe you're searching for clarity, but it's not fully here yet. However, you do see some shapes and some shadows, and you can kind of make something out, but it's not fully here just yet, and there's no rush, okay?

Another thing that you might feel when the Sun conjuncts the [00:08:00] North Node is a bit more confidence, and that can be really welcome and lovely. You know, the Sun urges us to be seen, to be perceived, to be visible, and sometimes when it's conjunct the North Node, we feel like, okay, I can do this. I can express myself. I can get in front of people. And it can also just bring in a little bit of optimism and brightness to the psyche in general, which is lovely. The sun is a creative and generative force and Pisces is also super creative and intuitive and the north node expands stuff and grows stuff. So if we put all of that together, it could be a really good day to like paint or write music, write a story. Express yourself in a way that can be completely unstructured, doesn't have any rules and just let yourself get in the flow.

A couple of days later on Wednesday, March 19th in North [00:09:00] America and Europe. And on Thursday, the 20th in Asia and Australia, the sun will make a conjunction to Neptune also in Pisces. So this is same, same, but different. Important thing to know about this conjunction is that this is the last time the Sun will make a conjunction to Neptune in Pisces as Neptune is about to make a big shift and move into Aries.

So in a way, I'm viewing this conjunction as a time to process and really bring to a close an entire 14 year chapter. So Neptune does take roughly 14 years to move through one sign. And so it first entered Pisces back in 2011. So take some time to reflect on this day and think about that 14 year span, and what you've been dreaming about, what you've been aspiring for, the path that you've taken, and kind of what Neptune has done for you, [00:10:00] or maybe undone for you during this time.

So for an example, I in 2011 Was in my very first year of naturopathic medical school. That at the time was my Neptune dream, but Neptune in Pisces is pretty convoluted.

And for a lot of different reasons, that dream never fully materialized, but without that Neptune meandering journey, I wouldn't be an astrologer,

beyond having a trip down memory lane, days like this can be a little foggy or feel like a mini Mercury retrograde. So things can be a bit unclear, you might feel a little tired, so in a way this is similar to the vibe that I express on Monday the 17th, so don't pressure yourself to be super organized or push yourself to be really productive if you don't have to.

Don't make yourself work in a straight line or be linear, you know, loosen up and go in [00:11:00] circles. Try to go with the flow instead of resisting it. This is another great day for creating as long as you're open to whatever you're making changing and morphing.

It's like the week is split in half where the first part of the week is extremely watery and then we change gears in a major major way and everything switches to Aries and the first bit of news that has to do with that happens on March 20th which is a Thursday and it's when the Sun moves into Aries and It's on Thursday, March 20th for most time zones.

So happy astrological new year. We are starting a fresh cycle around the Zodiac. This is going to kick off a very different feel from the beginning of the week. So again, the sun is the star it's amplified again, but for a different reason this time. So, before we were talking about the north node really amplifying the sun's [00:12:00] significations and meanings, this time the sign of Aries itself is really putting the sun up on a stage.

This is the sign of the sun's exaltation, which means that when the sun is In Aries, it has an extra measure of influence and power and esteem. So what does this mean for you? Well, remember that the sun Rules, Leo. So there's a couple possibilities. One, there could be an improvement in the Aries topics of your chart, but I think you're going to see more so a dramatic improvement in the Leo topics of your chart. So find wherever Leo is in your birth chart and plan for or expect a little boost of confidence in that particular area.

Again, the sun is one of our vital lights and represents a lot of how our energy flows and feels. It keeps us going. It's the light of the mind and perception. So, when it's exalted, it moves into a really [00:13:00] powerful, strong place. You might feel a shift in your physical energy and a shift in your mental processing. You might notice some increased courage to go for something that you've been maybe dragging your feet on for a while. You might have the drive to move forward with something or put yourself out there in a more visible type of way.

Next up we have Venus retrograde, also in Aries, making a sextile to Pluto in Aquarius. This is happening on Friday, March 21st in North America and Europe, and the 22nd in Asia and Australia. In my opinion, this is probably going to be pretty subtle for most of you, unless you have something at, let's see, the third degree of a fixed sign.

But, you know, let's talk about it anyway. So, this is number two in a series of three sextiles between Venus retrograde and Pluto in Aquarius. [00:14:00] The first one was on February 7th. And the last one's going to be on May 6th. So if you're a journal keeper like me, you might want to look back at February 7th to see what was going on and see if you can glean any meanings or themes for yourself.

If Venus retrograde is partially about reworking relationships and Pluto is all about depth and getting to the bottom of something, you might feel an urge to have a deep conversation with a loved one about something that feels. It's like it could be a little bit more smooth. You might want to have a What do they call it?

A DTR? Define the relationship. Does that date me? It's, people don't say that anymore. Anyways, okay. So, we might be asking hard questions, getting really honest with our partners or other people that are close to us. Other things that can happen during a sextile like this is, um, revelation. So [00:15:00] maybe Pluto brings up a little bit more information about, um, an issue that your partner is experiencing.

Or about your Venus retrograde theme generally. Including stuff like, What you find to be fun and pleasurable and how you rest and all of that stuff. This might bring up, um, where there is an imbalance of power, maybe where there's not enough of that stuff in your life and asks you to like make a plan and reassess that and get to the bottom of why.

That's not all that is happening with Venus retrograde this week. The next aspect is the Sun in Aries making a conjunction to Venus retrograde. This is happening over the weekend. Saturday, March 22nd in North America and Europe and the 23rd in Asia and Australia. So let's call this Venus cazimi Day. That's when a planet is exactly conjunct the Sun.

And in my mind it kind of acts like a reprieve from a retrograde. [00:16:00] So, before I get ahead of myself, remember that Venus is in Aries, and this is a sign that Venus finds a little foreign. This sign belongs to Mars, the planet of conflict and division and separation. Venus is a planet that wants harmony and peace and balance and togetherness.

So when Venus is renting Aries apartment, It's like, what am I going to do with all of these really sharp knives in here and this flamethrower? I don't know how to work this stuff. Okay, so venus is in what we call detriment, so the sign furthest away from its home sign. What we might be noticing is where things, Venusian things, aren't working super well, and we want to start playing with new ways to address them or creative solutions.

Exactly what I was talking about at the beginning of the podcast, where I encourage you to experiment. Really great time to do that. Sometimes when a planet is cazimi or in the heart of the sun, [00:17:00] there can be a lot of clarity on how to solve a problem creatively.

Let me give you another example beyond me experimenting on the podcast. I'm doing a lot of writing right now and Venus retrograde is happening in my fifth house of creativity. I'm trying a new way of writing that is very foreign to me It's very it feels sloppy. It feels like I'm breaking all the rules It feels really weird to my Virgo sensibilities, but I'm giving it a go anyway, and I'm experimenting with a new way of doing a fifth house thing

so take a minute, and this might sound a little negative, and I don't mean it that way, but like, take a minute to notice what problem or issue or little pebble in your shoe that Venus retrograde is bringing up, and see if you can brainstorm a little bit on Saturday.

Is it Saturday? Yes. How you might want to address that in a new way.

If Venus is your time lord this year and the [00:18:00] retrograde has been really frustrating or created some delays, this is a bright spot in the retrograde cycle and one where you sort of have a green light to operate as if the retrograde wasn't happening.

Okay, we've already come to our last aspect for the week, and this is the Sun in Aries sextiling Pluto in Aquarius. So remember, Venus just did this, and now it's the Sun's turn. Everybody is piling up in Aries, so we're having a lot of repeat action, which is super interesting. When you have repetition in astrology, pay attention.

Sun will sextile Pluto on Sunday, March 23rd in North America and Europe, and the 24th in Asia and Australia. Again, I think for most people, this will be a pretty subtle aspect unless you have something at the third degree of a fixed sign or close to that, but this could be a really good day for getting to the bottom of something.

When the sun and Pluto are together, it's all about uncovering, [00:19:00] revealing, researching, and really like sinking your teeth into something. This could be a good day to do a project. Start something that you've been kind of hesitating on. There's a lot of power in this aspect. Remember that the sun is exalted.

So, an exalted planet, I mean, some ancient authors thought that an exalted planet was better than a planet in rulership, because it's like, a special guest at a party where you give them the head of the table, you shower them with gifts, you give them like great honors and applause, and you give speeches about how great they are.

Okay, right. Okay, so that son is making a sextile to the god of Cycles, the god of birth and death, the god of let's make everything new again, let's, you know, empower you. That's pretty intense in a nice way, you know, this is a sextile after all. [00:20:00] So this would be a good day to make some significant movin and shakin make some decisions.

There could be a little bit of subtle confidence building going on during this day, and I want to say that you've got this, and it's a great day to say yes to something that maybe scares you a little bit.

Alright, my friends, that is all I have for you this week. Again, take some time for yourself in between the eclipses. Make sure you're feeding yourself well, sleeping yourself well, watering yourself well, walking yourself well, whatever it means to you to be well, I hope that you have that. Sending you so much love, and I'll talk to you next week.